Yes, but No

We can observe that generally there are 4 attitudes to life:

   1. Yes and Yes

   2. No and No

   3. Yes, but No

   4. No, but Yes

Allow me to elaborate: The first Yes in 'Yes and Yes' is when we think we believe in something; whereas the second Yes in 'Yes and Yes' means that we really do believe in it. 

For example, a person who has an attitude of 'Yes and Yes' about himself, will believe in himself. In fact, he is too confident in himself that he completely ignores any criticisms directed at him. In contrast, a person who has the attitude of 'No and No', will completely deny having any abilities, and despite what others praise him for, he will continue to not believe in himself.

Another person, on the other hand, who has the attitude of 'Yes, but No' in himself, will at first believe in his own abilities. In reality, he actually does not believe in himself, and so he listens to criticisms from others. Finally, there's also a type of person who has the 'No, but Yes' attitude about himself. This person will at first deny having any abilities, but in reality he is only too confident in himself that he doesn't accept any criticisms.

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There are many other examples to give for these differing attitudes; and they are not necessarily to do with the individual self. One example is of Science. 

Real progress in science, I think, can only be made when the 'Yes, but No' attitude is cultivated towards scientific knowledge. We can make a comparison to what would happen if the other attitudes are used towards science, instead of 'Yes, but No'.

Obviously the 'Yes and Yes' attitude would not bring any progress in science, since everyone will accept current scientific theories as if 'written in stone' and therefore they will suppress any rogue attempts to challenge the accepted theories. On the other hand, the 'No and No' attitude would of course deny science itself and therefore it would throw us back to the pre-scientific age.

Interestingly, it would be easy to discover how 'Yes, but No' can be the most productive attitude towards scientific knowledge. The first step, of course, is to believe in a certain scientific theory. However, this theory can only be improved if it's tested and challenged, as if it is actually false.

But what about having a 'No, but Yes' attitude to science? In this scenario, we would have to first deny all scientific theories as false, and then devise new ones. The reason why this attitude could be counter-productive is that, new theories would then be highly revered as incontestable, and further progress is prevented as these new theories are now being accepted as indisputable facts.

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It is probably obvious that 'Yes, but No' can be the most productive attitude, compared to the other three. Or is it?

Tortor & Si Tanggang

It's rather intriguing to read from the news that many Indonesians are angered by Malaysia's claim that Tortor dance is a Malaysian cultural heritage. As Indonesians and Malaysians are increasingly becoming westernised, we would think that there would not be any more issues between us about our Eastern cultures.  So let's look at what these people are angry about as this may lead us to interesting conclusions.

This brings me to the legend of Si Tanggang, popular in Malaysia and Indonesia. As a short summary of this legend: 

Si Tanggang, who was brought up by a fisherman and his wife, became a successful sea captain. Later he disowned his true parents and consequently got cursed by his mother, which turned him into stone. 

Tanggang is usually portrayed as an ungrateful son - which is undeniable - and deserved to be cursed for his ingratitude. That's all very fine, but why on earth would a mother curse her (only) son? 

In fact, a similar question is asked by a lot of people regarding the tortor dispute: why are many Indonesians protesting against Malaysians - their blood relatives -  for claiming the cultural heritage to their traditional dance? Shouldn't they feel proud that their culture extends to a wider geographical area?

Of course the reply to these doubts would be to highlight the fact that Tanggang is guilty of ungratefulness - and similarly, that Malaysia is not the country origin of Tortor dance. However, we should not forget the other facts as well: that the curse came from his own mother, but not from an independent judge - and that the protest came from closely-related Easterners, but not from indifferent Westerners.

I don't deny the right of a mother to feel angry with her ungrateful son - but I think we can also question the sincerity of the mother's love to her son if she really did curse him into stone out of anger. Indeed, Tanggang would be retrospectively justified to disown his mother, if the only way she reacts to his behaviour is to disown him in return. 

Where is the love? *Sigh*

I am not a new man, 

not very different 

from you; 

the people and cities 

of coastal ports 

thought me not to brood 

over a foreign world, 

suffer difficulties 

or fear possibilities. 

I am you, 

freed from the village, 

its soils and ways, 

independent, because 

I have found myself.

from Si Tenggang's Homecoming 

by Muhammad Haji Salleh 

A Short Composition

by yours truly ;)

Self-Doubt and Consumerism

1. Healthy Self-Doubt

We all need to doubt ourselves at times. Without self-doubt, we may refuse to seek help when we really need one, or we may become complacent with our situation and may overlook our risk of failure. This must already be obvious to us - if not and if we don't doubt ourselves now, something will eventually happen and it would (painfully) remind us of our own limitations. Pray that it won't be too harsh on us.

2. Pathological Self-Doubt 

What really interest me is when there is too much self-doubt. Unfortunately, I cannot give any advice on how to overcome this - you may know better than I do. Here I'm only interested in discussing how we can be exploited when we doubt ourselves too much. 


3. Buying Promises

I think Nike really got it when they came up with their tagline: "Just Do It". Yes, we get inspired by this adage by Nike that when we face a difficult task, we can remind ourselves to "just do it". On the other hand, behind this simple branding slogan we find the true nature of big brands: what we really buy from them are not their products (e.g shoes, bags, phones, etc), but promises of better chances in life.

It's not that Nike is telling us to 'Just Do It' - "It" being "Buy our products". Instead, by having this phrase associated with their brand, I think they really are saying that we can 'Just Do It' - 'It' being 'even the most impossible things' - if we own Nike products. This may seem more obvious when we look at other brands and products.

Lately I have noticed that smartphone ads before the screening of a film in the cinema have been more and more to do with people using the phone for the most trivial things. One of these adverts has a 'photography student' using a smartphone to do a fashion shoot while sky-diving! "Oh, nice. If I get that phone I can do that too". Maybe that wasn't the point of that advert. Its subtle message is that I can do even the most impossible things when I own that smartphone. Nice.

In fact, this advertising trick is not new. Think about all those alcohol ads with seemingly unrelated contents and old cigarette ads with healthy macho cowboys. "You drink and you can do the trivial things in life". "You smoke and you can live a free life and ride a horse all day". And of course, this also applies to lottery tickets, like what I read from this article.


4. Wants and Needs

When we advise children about spending money we like to tell them to keep their wants and needs apart. We advise them to prioritise spending more on their needs and not waste too much on fulfilling their desires. Is this advice good enough for them?

Maybe we should also advise them on the balance of having self-confidence and self-doubt. "Too much confidence will eventually land you into trouble. But if you have too much self-doubt, you can be exploited by empty promises." And yes, tell them, "Owning the latest gadget won't guarantee to make you more creative. Trust your own intelligence, and you can be creative and produce a masterpiece even with just pen and paper".

Behind the Politics of The Dictator

Anyone who goes to watch 'The Dictator' knows full well before watching it that it is just a parody of dictators in general, as we can easily relate it to actual political uprisings and recent events like the Arab Spring (the fall of Ben Ali, Gaddafi and Mubarak). In fact, [spoiler alert] those who have actually seen it would also realise that this film also mocks western democracy, especially in a surprising 'Occupy Wall Street' speech by the dictator, General Aladeen in a late scene. But let's go beyond its politics.

Fortunately, there's enough material in 'The Dictator' for us to see it as more than a political parody, as we can observe the adventures of General Aladeen in New York as an allegory to an individual's coming of age (i.e transition from childhood to adulthood). 

***

 In fact it is easy to draw parallels between dictatorship and childhood. At what other times in our lives that we think ourselves to be the centre of the universe - bestowed with all the rights to rule the world  - while mixing our desires and our needs. Ignorant of other people's needs and desires, the child enforces his own morality on others and assumes a royal treatment from his environment, especially from his parents. Interestingly, the role of parents in taking care of their 'special' child is also reflected in this film by the tireless effort of General Aladeen's uncle, Tamir, to fulfil the childlike desires ("I need hugs") of the dictator and ultimately enforcing his rule on the people of Wadiya. 

What the Dictator would soon realise is that he may not be so special after all - and this he would discover in two tragic facts [another spoiler alert]:

Replaceable. In a pretence to fool his enemies, Aladeen's uncle finds a body double of General Aladeen to replace him temporarily. However, Aladeen comes to realise that the real intention of his uncle is to replace him altogether with someone who looks exactly like Aladeen but who would obey all orders from the uncle. In other words, the dictator realises that the world is indifferent to his individuality. He could be killed and replaced by a body double - and the truth is - no one would really care!

Object of Hatred. Another reality check for Aladeen is when he accidentally walked into a gathering place of all the people he sent to be killed. What surprised him was that all these people were still alive and also filled with vengeance. This is an important lesson for the dictator, that every action begets a reaction, and that one must be ready to face the consequences of his actions. A child's naive assumption of the unfailing love and forgiveness from everyone around him is shattered once he discovers that he can also be hated by the people he loves.

***

Maybe as he has unknowingly mocked democracy and reverted back to his dictatorial ways, we can question whether the Dictator has really reached 'adulthood'. In fact, the guise of democracy in Wadiya at the end could also be seen as the guise of maturity in someone who is only really a grown-up child.


* Perhaps the giveaway clue to the allegory of 'The Dictator' to the coming of age is the scene he learns for the first time how to 'pleasure himself'. As in pubertal development, the moment one tastes this 'forbidden fruit', one would have also acquired the independence of the individual over biology (i.e one can fulfil his own biological urges). While this, in a way, may be good for the individual, it is bad for the species. No wonder it is morally abhorred.